'iPhone 6s' Could Have 2GB of RAM and Pre-Installed Apple SIM

The next-generation iPhone is expected to ship with 2GB of RAM and could also have a pre-installed Apple SIM, according to AppleInsider. The so-called "iPhone 6s," and presumably the "iPhone 6s Plus," would be adopting both features from the iPad Air 2, which also has 2GB of RAM and a pre-installed Apple SIM.

iphone6-stock
Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and all previous models dating back to the iPhone 5, have 1GB of RAM and must be used with a SIM card obtained from an individual carrier. Apple SIM, introduced alongside the iPad Air 2, allows you to choose between a variety of carriers without locking into long-term plans. Participating U.S. carriers include AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

"The same source also told AppleInsider that Apple is strongly considering shipping its next-generation handset with the Apple SIM pre-installed. That piece, which also made its debut with the iPad Air 2, allows consumers to sign up for mobile data plans from any participating carrier directly from the Settings app without long-term contracts and to switch providers at any time."

While the report claims that Apple is strongly considering including a pre-installed Apple SIM on the next iPhone, the company's vice president of iPhone, iPod and iOS product marketing Greg Joswiak downplayed the idea last year because of the higher number of iPhone customers that purchase their smartphone directly from a carrier.

"It's about the customer experience," he said during an appearance here at Re/code's Code/Mobile conference. "We ultimately don't know who you are going to use as the carrier, [and] we want to make it as easy as possible."

Joswiak said Apple has not discussed putting the Apple SIM into iPhones, but said that because of the way most customers buy an iPhone--through a carrier directly--the Apple SIM is not as well suited. "I don't think you're going to go to the Verizon store and say, 'Can you hook me up with AT&T?,'" he said.

These rumors are rather predictable given that Apple typically improves the hardware specifications of iPhones and iPads each year, although the addition of a pre-installed Apple SIM on iPhone may still not materialize due to tough opposition from carriers. Verizon, for example, was notably absent as a participating carrier for Apple SIM when the iPad Air 2 was released last year.

Apple is expected to announce its next-generation iPhones in September per usual. The "iPhone 6s" was also rumored to have 2GB of RAM and Force Touch in January based on sources within Apple's supply chain. Few other details about the upcoming iPhones are known, aside from a disputed claim that the devices will include a DSLR-like dual-lens camera system.

Top Rated Comments

AppleScruff1 Avatar
118 months ago
Why more RAM? I thought 1GB was enough? Or at least that's what I read whenever someone complained that the iPad Air reloaded tabs.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Refurbished_ Avatar
118 months ago
Will we reach 16gb RAM before we end 16gb storage?
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fratey Avatar
118 months ago
Cool, maybe then one can multitask between, say, Google Maps and Safari – without Safari having to reload the tabs every single time (like on my iPhone 6 Plus).
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleScruff1 Avatar
118 months ago
I don't believe anyone ever said that 1 GB was enough. What they said was that Apple wasn't including so little to be cheap but for other reasons such as battery life and that the tradeoff may well be worth it.


Lots of people said 1GB was enough and people who complained were dismissed on a regular basis by some. Apple knows what they are doing, iOS doesn't need more RAM, why would you want to have 3 tabs open, etc. etc.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thinkthis Avatar
118 months ago
1GB is not enough

I have never owned an Android phone and could probably be considered somewhat of an Apple fanboy.

Let us be clear on one point: 1 GB of ram for a smartphone in today's mobile computing environment is not enough. It is not even close to enough. No amount of optimization by Apple can get around the fact that today's complex and robust applications need an ever increasing amount of RAM.

Apple did a great job of pushing mobile apps to the masses, but they have not built a platform that is capable of executing these apps in a seamless way.

I own an iPhone 6 and when I switch between apps, which I do frequently, I expect that the save state of the previous app will be lost EVERY SINGLE TIME, because that's usually what happens.

This is unacceptable. If they had an iPhone 6++ released last October that had 4GB of ram in it I would have paid $1-200 extra for it. The phone feels crippled as it is right now.

If this rumor is true (and I suspect that it is) I will likely upgrade again. So I guess Apple wins. But I'm not happy about it.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleScruff1 Avatar
118 months ago
There was a time when 500 mb or even half of that was enough. My iPhone with 1gb of RAM has performed far better then other devices I have used with at least twice as much RAM. This increased RAM would be for future devices and iOS. And yes, for many who are not into spec craze, currently 1GB of RAM is enough.

Thanks for proving my point.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...